China’s Meiling using vacuum-assisted foam injection

HEFEI, CHINA (Dec. 18, 11:50 a.m. ET) — Appliance maker Heifei Meiling Co. Ltd. is now in full production with its innovative refrigerators made using Cannon’s vacuum-assisted injection of rigid polyurethane foam insulation.

Use of an innovative foam-filling technology – based on the use of vacuum in the cabinet during injection of polyurethane – allows for a superior distribution of foam within a refrigerator body characterized by a complex design and wide dimensions. This advantage, in combination with a special formulation developed by Dow Europe – commercially available under the Pascal brand – provides superior insulating properties to the foam, granting for an A++ energy saving classification.

Meiling is currently producing its newest models of low-consumption high-style domestic refrigerators in a new foaming plant supplied by Cannon and commissioned in September 2012.

A premixing station allows the precise metering of cyclopentane blowing agent into the polyol. Ancillary elements (pre-heating ovens for the cabinets, handling systems for empty and foam-filled units, vacuum pumps to lower the pressure within the foaming fixtures, safety systems and electronic controls) were all supplied by Cannon in a turnkey package able to make one fridge every 30 seconds.

The doors are also made with Cannon Drum units, able to produce two doors at each opening cycle of the rotary mold carriers. Here, foaming is done with open-mold pouring, making use of another high-pressure Cannon A100 dispensing unit and two Cannon FPL 18 mixing heads.

As a supplement to the new 8-fixtures plant for vacuum-assisted technology, another set of 12 conventional foaming fixtures, with all relevant “wet side” was installed in the same factory at the same time.